Brazil

Abstract

Brazil was discovered on 22 April 1500 by the Portuguese Admiral Pedro Alvares Cabrai, and thus became a Portuguese settlement; in 1815 the colony was declared ‘a kingdom’, and it was proclaimed an independent Empire in 1822. The monarchy was overthrown in 1889 and a republic declared. Following a coup in 1964 the armed forces retained overall control until civilian government was restored on 15 March 1985.